A New Beginning In Rock Creek
by Wendymypooh
Summary: Four Sisters arrive in Rock Creek to start a new life and are befriended by members of the Pony Express.


It was a warm spring day. The sky overhead was a cerulean blue with powder puff clouds sprinkled sporadically across it. Early morning sunlight cast down its warming rays, awakening the creatures below to a brand new day. Four young women bustled about a small campground, preparing the first meal of the day, tending to horses, rolling up blankets, and packing items into the back of a wagon.

Susannah, the eldest of four daughters born to Greer Florian, wore her long blond hair pinned at the nape of her neck, and wore a faded pink and white dress. She ladled porridge into metal bowls and set them onto a smooth rock in the middle of a four others that she and her sisters were using for a makeshift table and chairs. She finished dishing up the rest of the meal and then called out,

"Breakfast is ready. Come and eat,"

"Everything else is packed into the wagon and ready to go," Devanee said as she washed up, before joining Susannah near the fire. She had shoulder length, curly dark hair, and the same emerald green eyes that all four girls had inherited from their father. "Except for tidying up and packing the dishes back into their crate."

"Good," Susannah said, "The sooner we can head out the better off we'll be. I hope that we will reach Rock Creek by nightfall. We're running low on supplies."

"Me too." Nandria commented as she joined her older sisters. "It would be nice to take a bath in a real tub, instead of a creek. Only if we can afford it...,"

The money they had inherited from their father's estate was steadily dwindling. To prevent them from losing all of their money to outlaws or other hazards, Susannah and Devanee had divided it into two bundles. Each of them held the responsibility of keeping their cache safe. So far, this strategy had stood them in good stead, and both were eagerly waiting the day when they could purchase land for them to settle down on.

"Dria that is going to be the first thing all of us are going to do." Susannah assured Nandria as Gillian joined them.

She was wearing a white man's shirt tucked into patched denims, boots, and a Colt 44 strapped to her right leg. Her fiery, untamed red hair was tied back with a piece of cloth. She gave her hands a quick washing and then picked up the last bowl of porridge and took a large bite, earning her a glare from both Susannah and Devanee.

"I ain't got any time for the Lord, Sanna, since he doesn't seem to have any time for us. If He did, we would have done settled already and not been chased out of everywhere we tried to start a new life," Gillian retorted.

"God isn't responsible for the bigoted people who won't see past my skin long enough to know my character," Devanee said in a controlled voice. "It's their problem, not HIS. It is because of HIM that we are still together, Gillian, and I will not tolerate anymore blasphemy from you."

Gillian glared defiantly at Devanee for a moment. She hated being scolded by either of her two older sisters, but she particularly detested it when they were right. She knew her animosity toward God was not right, but she could not help it. A caring God would have done something along time ago to lessen the hardships she and her sisters had experienced.

"I'm sorry," she murmured softly.

Devanee smiled at Gillian to assure her sister her apology was accepted.

"Nandria, will you say the blessing?" Susannah asked once her sisters had made up.

"All right," Nandria agreed.

After their meal was over, the sisters extinguished the campfire, and cleaned up the area. Soon they were on the move again. Nandria rode in the back of the wagon and took down notes about the sites and sounds she experienced as they traveled, into the sisters' memory book.

Devanee and Susannah climbed aboard the wagon seat, with Devanee taking up the reins in her slender hands. She gave a tug on them to get Thundercloud and Lightning Bolt into motion, which the matched pair of black stallions protested to at first. Gillian mounted Star Fire, her roan mare, and quickly maneuvered the horse into the lead as the sisters started the next stretch of their journey.

The solitary wagon crept its way across the prairie in the direction of a speck of civilization in the far distance. Devanee brought the wagon to a stop atop a grassy hill and gazed down on the bustling town below.

Susannah lifted a slender, gloved hand to her forehead and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "It looks to be a good size."

"Sure does." Devanee remarked. "I just hope it will be a place we can settle down in...If not Sanna, I am going to-"

"Don't say it! Don't you even think it Devanee!" Susannah snapped, her green eyes flashing with heat. "We stay together, remember?"

Devanee met her sister's eyes head on. "I remember Sanna...but what if this town doesn't like me? We can't keep moving on from place to place…it's not fair to Gillie and Dria."

"If they do not like you…then they do not like any of us. We're family, blood, and we'll stick together no matter what." Susannah scolded her lightly.

Devanee fought to control the emotions welling up inside of her. She could not bear the thought of being separated from her sisters, but if it meant they could be happy, she would sacrifice her own for theirs.

The thought of Devanee leaving, scared the tar out of Susannah. Her heart ached at the idea she, Gillian, and Nandria would not have Devanee with them. "Together always, Nee..." she said with a voice raw with emotion.

Devanee raised her head to look her sister in the face and saw the tears standing in Susannah's eyes. "Together, always, Sanna," she echoed the sentiment as both became aware of thundering hooves riding up on their position.

Devanee used one hand to shade her eyes, "Looks like Gillian is headed back from scouting ahead."

Gillian reined in her mount, Star Fire, to a pace even with the wagon her three sisters were riding in. "There's a town up a head... I reckon it might be what we are looking for."

Susannah smiled. "It is sisters; I have a feeling about this…"

Devanee picked up the pace of the horses as Gillian on Star Fire trotted alongside the wagon.

"I wouldn't count your chickens before their hatched Sanna." Gillian said, "We haven't been anywhere yet which hasn't turned on us."

"This one is going to be different, you will see. This town isn't going to know what hit them when the Florian sisters arrive."

"I am going to ride on a head again. Best wake Dria up." Gillian said as she spurred Star Fire into a gallop.

Devanee watched her go for a moment, "I wish she wouldn't hold onto all that anger."

Sighing, Susannah nodded her agreement. "We had time with Pa, and both of our Ma's. She and Dria did not really get a chance to know either of their folks, all they remember is you or I have always been there to take care of them. I think once we get settled, Gillie will start to let down her guard and just be happy."

She turned around on the wagon seat and reached down to shake Nandria awake. "Dria wake up."

Green eyes blinked open at the sound of her name being called. "Where are we?" Nandria asked around a yawn.

"Our new home is just ahead," Susannah smiled at her youngest  
sister.

Nandria sat up quickly and peered out of the wagon. "I'm hoping it ain't this...," she said, her eyes taking in the barren surroundings around them.

Devanee chuckled. " No, it's down the hill a ways. "

"Oh good..." Nandria exclaimed, as the sisters continued toward the frontier town below.

Gillian rode ahead of her sisters as they entered the bustling frontier town. A wooden sign hung across the road, welcomed newcomers to 'Rock Creek'. She chuckled as she gazed around the town, where the 'rocks' or 'creek' was located. There were not any signs of hills, mountains, or creeks for as far as she could see. All she could see were tall buildings, dirt roads, horses, and people.

She led the way down the crowded main street, searching for the general store. She spotted it a few moments later and turned Star Fire toward it, knowing that Devanee would follow with the team.

When she reached the large wooden structure that read, "Tompkins Mercantile", Gillian dismounted and tied her horse's reins to the hitching post. She waited until Devanee had maneuvered the team up to the store, and then tied Thundercloud and Lightning's Bolt to the hitching post as well.

Susannah gazed around at the different buildings, taking note of businesses were already established, as she smoothed out the wrinkles in her traveling clothes. She wished there was somewhere she and her sisters could freshen up. She rather hated doing shopping in dusty, wrinkled clothes, with her hair not combed to perfection, and her face and hands not scrubbed.

Devanee removed the work gloves from her hands as she jumped down from the wagon seat. She ran her hands over her dress and grimaced as a layer of dust fell away. She noticed Susannah doing the same thing and grinned as Nandria joined them. They stepped onto the wooden sidewalk where Gillian awaited them, and together the sisters entered the mercantile.

William Tompkins was going over some inventory at the back of his store when he heard the bell above the front door chime, signaling to him that he had customers. He turned to watch as four, attractive young women in faded garments and disheveled appearances entered his establishment. He eyed all of them warily particularly the dark skinned one who seemed at home among the others.

The last thing that Rock Creek needed was another Negro in town. Their town already had more than enough Negros, immigrants, and Indians in it for his liking, without anymore arriving. It did not appear that the influx of new people settling in town was going to end any time soon.

Regardless of his own personal feelings about the situation, he was not going to do anything to pass up making a sale. By the looks of the four young women's clothing, it was anyone's guess about what their spending limit was. Maybe they would only buy enough supplies to get them to their intended destination, or they would splurge and make a rather large purchase. Either way he was due to make some money, and that always put him in a more charitable mood.

"May I help you ladies with something?" He set his tablet and pencil on the counter and waited for one of them to answer his question.

Hearing the storekeeper's deep voice hailing them, Susannah squared her shoulders and headed straight for the counter with Devanee, Gillian, and Nandria following close behind her.

"Good morning, sir." Susannah affixed a pleasant smile on her face as she reached the counter. "My name is Susannah Florian, and these three young ladies accompanying me are my younger sisters, Devanee, Gillian, and Nandria. We've just arrived in town and are in need of supplies as well as looking for land to purchase."

Surprise colored Tompkins countenance as he listened to the young woman introduce her and the three young women who stood behind her. Maybe he needed to have the doc check his ears. He could have sworn that the blonde headed woman in front of him had introduced all three of the others, as her sisters, but that could not be correct.

However, as he glanced from one attractive face to the other, Tompkins took note of similar facial structures and the fact that each woman had the same amazing green eyes. He had heard about some men taken a fancy to dark skin and mating with their female slaves, but they usually kept the sordid affairs secretive. Folks didn't make mention of these relations, or identified themselves as having siblings or parents of mixed blood, yet that was exactly what this young woman was doing. She was proud to have a darkie relative, and by the expressions on the rest of the young women, they appeared to feel the same way.

"If you have a list with all the supplies you'll need on it, I can start getting them ready for you." Tompkins shook his head. "As for acquiring any land, you'll have to head down to the Land Agent's office and talk to the man in charge, Roy Dale."

"Thank you for the information regarding the Land Agent. We will be sure to go over there as soon as we are finished with our shopping. I'm afraid that we didn't make out a list before coming inside your fine establishment, but there are several things we need that we can tell you off the top of our heads." Susannah told him politely. "Five pounds of sugar, ten pounds of flour, a jar of sorghum or molasses, a jar of honey, five pounds each of coffee and tea-,"

She turned toward her sisters who quickly added the rest of the food items that they were in need of to the growing list the storekeeper was writing down.

When he was finished writing down the last item, Tompkins glanced back up at the four women. "Is there anything else you want on this list? If not, I'll have it ready for you in about fifteen minutes."

"No thank you," Susannah explained. "The rest of the items that we need, my sisters and I need to pick out ourselves."

"Go right ahead," Tompkins said and moved to start filling the large order the four women had requested.

Susannah turned toward her sisters, and together the foursome made their way over to the aisle where large bolts of fabric, laces, and other items were stacked. Once they reached the aisles, the sisters split up to do their individual shopping.

The sisters chose enough material for each of them to have a new dress or skirt for special occasions and church, a work outfit, and undergarments. Buttons, lengths of lace, sewing thread, and a couple of frivolous items were all compiled together.

As they were shopping, they heard the bell over the door chime, and then a few moments later, some rowdy voices filled the interior. Tompkins threw the group of disheveled, dirty men a wary glance as they entered his establishment and separated into different directions. He slipped his free hand below the counter and caressed the rifle he kept there, preparing himself to draw it if the need arose.

"Well look what we have here, Myer?" One of the men stated as he rounded a corner and came face to face with Nandria.

The youngest Florian sister had been reading a page of one of the new dime novels, and had not seen the man approach her. Hearing a man's voice so close to her ear, startled her, and she whirled around to face who had spoken. She was met with beady dark eyes, gap tooth smile and bad breath, and Nandria instinctively moved backward.

"Where you going sweet," Myer asked as he joined his friend Nichols. He reached out a meaty hand to stop Nandria from moving away from them, but froze when he felt the business end of a gun poke him in the back.

"Don't you dare lay a filthy hand on my sister," Gillian spit out between clenched teeth. She had been in the aisle across from Nandria, and due to her clothing, and with her hair tucked under the brim of her hat, the two men had overlooked paying her any attention and settled their sight on Nandria instead.

"Sonny, you're making a big mistake," Myer stated, his hand inching toward the gun he wore on his side.

"He's going for a gun," Nandria warned Gillian, gathering her wits about her as Susannah and Devanee watched fearfully as the scene played out.

There were two other men in the store as well, although neither of them was tall enough to see over the stacked aisles to see where they were located. They could only pray that the storekeeper would make sure that they did not come to the aide of their friends.

"You'll be dead before you can draw it," Gillian threatened, grinding her gun into his side to emphasize her point.

"Okay…don't shoot sonny. We were only having a bit of fun." Myers exclaimed.

"Nandria, get their guns…." Gillian ordered her sister, and was relieved when her frightened sister did as she directed.

Nandria tucked one of the guns into the waist of her skirt and then cocked the other and pointed at Myers and Nichols. She prayed that she would not have to use the gun that she held on the two men.

"Susannah, Devanee…you all right?" Gillian called out to her older sisters.

"We're fine…brother." Devanee called back, playing along with the illusion that the two men believed that Gillian was a man and not a woman.

Gillian felt relief fill her. It only lasted a second, as she watched Nandria's eyes widen in alarm. She started to turn to face whoever was behind her, when she heard two shots ring out. The man who had snuck up on her, clutched his right arm, let out a groan of pain, and was dead before he hit the floor, exhibiting a gaping hole in his back.

She glanced up and saw Tompkins with a smoking rifle in his hands. At his feet lay the other man in a crumpled heap. Gillian glanced over at Nandria and saw that her younger sister had turned pale and appeared to be ready to pass out at any moment.

"Get moving," she grabbed Myer by the shirt and sent him stumbling over his fallen friend, toward the storekeeper who kept a level gun on the ruffian. She sent Nichols after him, before beckoning to Nandria to join her.

Silently Nandria joined her, and willingly gave up the guns she held in her possession. As they stepped over the man on the ground, and past the beginning of the other aisle, Susannah and Devanee rushed to join them.

"You handle yourself pretty well," Tompkins told Gillian grudgingly as the four sisters joined the storekeeper and the two hoodlums at the front of the store.

"Thanks," Gillian acknowledged the compliment curtly. "What are we going to do with these scumbags?"

"The Kid and I will take them to the Marshal," a new voice said from the doorway.

The Florians' turned to see a petite young woman with auburn hair tied back in a ponytail, and a chestnut haired man with blue eyes, both clothed in work shirts, denims, and boots standing in the doorway. In their hands were guns.

"The two of you got good timing Lou," Tompkins called out as he continued to stand guard over Myer and Nichols with Gillian.

"Seems like we do, Tompkins," Lou Kidrickson agreed as she and Kid joined the others at the front of the store. "Kid and I were walking by on our way to see Teaspoon at the jail, when we heard the gunshots. "We figured you might need some assistance."

"We were handling it just fine." Gillian commented.

"Gillian!" Susannah exclaimed, and was rewarded with a glare that made both Nandria and Devanee chuckle. "I would tell you that my sister is only like this in a stressful situation, but unfortunately that would be a lie. We would appreciate any help that you can give us."

Kid grinned at the blond woman's words. "She sounds a lot like someone else I know." He glanced lovingly over at the dark-haired woman beside him, and received a glare of his own.

"Shut up, Kid." Lou holstered her weapon. "I'm Louise Kidrickson, and this is my husband Kid. What happened here?"

"I'm Susannah Florian, and these are my sisters, Gillian, Devanee, and Nandria. These men came in here a little while ago, and were about to molest Nandria when Gillian stopped them. The storekeeper aided us by shooting that man over there on the ground when he snuck up on Gillian."

"We'll handle them for you now." Kid assured her as he ordered the two men out of the store.

"What about this one?" Lou nudged the one at their feet. "Is he alive or dead?"

"I reckon he'll live. He's going to have a wallop of a headache when he wakes up." Tompkins told her. "I'll look after him until you can send someone back to get him and the dead one over there."

Lou nodded. She smiled at the Florian sisters. "I'm sorry your arrival in town had to start out on a bad note. If you need our assistance for anything else, please do not hesitate to ask. Our ranch, the PX, is just on the outskirts of town."

"Thank you again for your help." Devanee said.

Lou nodded again, and then hurried out of the store to catch up with Kid. Tompkins kept a watchful eye on the unconscious man in front of the counter, as he finished packaging up the Florian's order. Susannah stayed with Nandria, who was still quite shaken up by the ordeal, while Devanee and Gillian collected their yard goods and other items and brought them up to the counter. By the time Tompkins had finished cutting up the material into the lengths that they needed, as well as adding the total of items together, the Kid and another man had returned to the store to retrieve the unconscious ruffian and his dead friend.

As soon as they had paid their bill and loaded up their items into the wagon, the sisters headed to the Land Agent's office. Gillian waited with Nandria outside, while Susannah and Devanee went in and talked business.

"I wonder what's taking so long." Gillian asked impatiently.

"I don't know. Maybe there is not any land to buy. Or maybe the price is too high." Nandria commented.

Gillian did not get a chance to respond as the door to the Land Agent's office finally opened and their older sisters stepped out onto the porch. Susannah's face beamed as she held up a land deed. "We've got us our own piece of land sisters...It's located in a section of the town that hasn't been built upon quite yet, amid something the Land Agent referred to as Tent City. We're going to have to use the canvas of the wagon for a tent for the time being, until we can get some sort of structure put up, and sleep in bedding on the ground like we've been doing, but it's ours, lock, stock, and barrel."

Now as they revealed the news of their new home to Gillian and Nandria, Devanee could not help thinking...that maybe, just maybe...they had really found a home for good.

"Wahoo!" Gillian shouted, hugging Nandria excitedly.

"That's wonderful news." Nandria said with tears in her eyes. "We finally have the land we've always wanted."

"It doesn't have any buildings on it," Susannah warned her younger sisters as they headed toward the location of their land. Gillian riding Star Fire beside the wagon that the others were sitting in. "Mr. Dale said that land with any sort of building on it was snapped up like hotcakes. There are new people moving into town every day that it's even hard for the mills to keep up with enough wood for houses, so we're going to be camping out for awhile longer."

"As long as we're together, on our own land, I don't care if we sleep outside for the rest of our lives." Gillian declared enthusiastically.

"I hope it doesn't take that long until we can have a real house," Nandria stated with a grimace. "I hate sleeping on the ground and having bugs crawling on me."

Susannah, Devanee, and Gillian laughed. "It's not going to be that long," Susannah was quick to reassure her.

When they pulled up at the plot of land, all four sisters felt some measure of disappointment fill them as they took in the crowded rows of canvas tents squashed rather close together. There were dirt streaked, barefooted children running amuck in between the tents, clotheslines filled with faded clothing fluttered in the wind, loose chickens pecked for bugs in the hard dirt and barking dogs chased each other from one tent to another. Men in patched denims heaved hammers and pounded nails into skeletal structures. Women tended to babies, washed clothes, or prepared food around smoky campfires.

They turned down one row of tents, following the directions that the Land Agent had given them until they came upon a large section of land at the end of the last row.

"This is it," Susannah said, gesturing with one hand as she climbed down from the wagon. "It's only a small parcel of land, but it is a start."

Devanee eyed the parcel of dirt land they had purchased, and felt hope for the future fill her for the first time in a long while. As long as she and her sisters were all together, they could get through anything. None of them was the least bit afraid of a little hard work, and she had confidence that in no time at all, they would make fine use of the land they owned.

"Sanna's right sisters. With everything that we have already been through together, I know we can accomplish anything. With lots of hard work, determination and the good Lord guiding us through it all, I know that we're going to soon have us a fine house to live in."

She glanced up at the darkening sky. "Let us take a quick gander around before the sunsets and we are not able to see much of anything. Then we can set up camp, make dinner, and get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

Gillian and Nandria both agreed and the sisters went to inspect the land where they could finally settle down and have a place to call home.

They had barely finished setting up camp, when Lou arrived with another woman. Both women were carrying covered baskets. "Rachel, I'd like you to meet the Florian sisters; Devanee, Susannah, Gillian, and Nandria. Girls, this is my good friend Rachel Dunne."

"It's nice to meet you," Rachel Dunne smiled at the young women. "Lou and Kid told me about the altercation you had at the store and that you were new in town. I know how hard it is to set up camp, so I thought that maybe you would enjoy not having to cook on top of it, at least not tonight. We brought you some sandwiches and baked goods."

"That was so nice of you." Nandria said, returning Rachel's smile as she took the basket from her.

"I'm not much of a cook, although Rachel is teaching me," Lou told the sisters. "So I didn't bring you anything to eat. Instead I brought you some fresh butter, cream, milk, and cheese from our ranch."

"Thank you," Susannah said softly, tears welling up in her eyes at the thoughtful gifts the two women had given them. Nandria sniffled beside her, causing Gillian and Devanee to gather closer to their sisters to offer them support.

Lou and Rachel exchanged alarmed glances. "We're sorry if we've offended you…" Lou began.

"You can't possibly know the gift that you've given to us," Devanee said softly, blinking back her own tears. "We've searched so long to find a place where we could settle down and find friends that we were beginning to think it was never going to happen. Most of the towns we stopped in chased us out as soon as we got supplies because I have Negro blood. You've changed that for us."

"Lou and I belong to a rather unique family that includes a half-Kiowa and a free black man. We're not tied by blood like you girls are, but through love, friendship, and commitment to one another." Rachel said softly. "While I can't say that you won't face some bigotry here, the majority of the people here are kind and good. I hope that you all will like it here very much."

"Thank you again, for everything." Susannah said.

"You are welcome. Good night," Lou told them as she and Rachel left.

The Florians' sat down to enjoy the delicious sandwiches and baked goods that Lou and Rachel had brought them. They did not know what tomorrow would bring, but with the knowledge that they had land of their own and new friends too, they knew that they could face anything.


End file.
